Broken Pieces
by lja136
Summary: Chris and Ashley are the only ones to survive the night of horror on Blackwood Mountain. Neither of them are taking things well, but Ashley seems even more affected than Chris initially thought. Can he help her put her broken pieces back together?
1. Nightmares

The moment Ashley left the interview room, she searched for the one person who survived all of that night's events with her. Her heart briefly skipped a beat when she didn't see him right away, but a door opening nearby drew her gaze.

"Chris, Chris, Chris," she said, rushing over and throwing her arms around his shoulders before she could over-think and back out.

Chris tensed up, his fear response kicking in before realizing it was just Ashley that was moving towards him. He wrapped his arms around her shaking frame. Or maybe it was him that was shaking?

"It's over. It's all over now," Chris stated, trying to soothe Ashley.

"B-But Mike, and Jessica and Sam and oh my god," Ashley sobbed out, burying her face in Chris's jacket to catch her tears.

A couple tears fell from Chris's eyes and he sniffled. "Hopefully the mountain's safer now, with a few less of those things hunting around," he commented, though it was a hollow victory after everything they'd been through.

Once they got back to California, Chris felt like he was just going through the motions. Go home, tell his story a million times, eat, sleep, wake up, tell his story to more questioning relatives, and repeat. He didn't have the motivation to do much else, deciding he needed to feel like himself before he could try socializing again.

The third night after getting back, however, Chris was woken up suddenly by his cell phone ringing. He groaned as he picked it up, not even trying to look at the screen without his glasses before putting it to his ear.

"Hello?" he answered, sleep still heavy on his voice.

"Oh, my god, Chris," Ashley's voice came spilling out the receiver. Suddenly Chris was a lot less tired. He sat up in his bed and reached for his glasses, throwing them on.

"Ashley, is everything alright?" he asked, worry evident in his voice.

Ashley was breathing heavily. "Yeah, I mean, I'm sorry," she replied. "It's stupid. I just had a nightmare."

"It's not stupid, I've been getting a lot of those," Chris replied with a sigh. His adrenaline rush was wearing off and he laid back down in his bed.

"In my nightmare, you died too and I was so scared, Chris," Ashley said. Chris could hear the tears on her voice and wanted so badly to hug Ashley and make her fears go away. But all's he could do was talk and listen. "When I woke up, I knew you were safe, but a part of me wasn't sure and I just had to call to make sure and I know it's stupid, I'm sorry for waking you."

"Hey, Ash, it's okay," Chris stated. "To be honest, I've been wanting to call to check in with you, but I wasn't sure if you needed more time. I'm glad to hear from you, even at-" he checked the clock on his phone, "Three twenty-two in the morning."

"I should let you sleep," Ashley conceded with a sigh.

"Hey, if you need me to stay up and talk with you until you go back to sleep, I will," Chris stated.

"I can't ask you to do that," Ashley replied, her voice nearly at a mumble as she spoke. "If the last couple nights are any indication, I, uh, I won't be able to try to sleep again until it's night again."

"You should try, you need sleep. I can sing you a lullaby," Chris offered, a hint of his trademark humor finally showing itself.

"Oh gosh, please no," Ashley begged. It sounded like a serious request, but Chris smiled a little, recognizing a hint of Ashley's own deadpan humor to her tone. "Thank you."

"For answering the phone?" Chris asked.

"For making things seem somewhat back to normal for a moment," Ashley replied.

"How about a little more normal? My schedule isn't exactly full, why don't we meet up in the usual place in a few hours, say one?"

There was a moment of silence, and Chris wondered, not for the first time, what went on in Ashley's mind. "Sounds great," she finally replied. "And I'll try to get a little sleep in between then and now, Mom."

Chris gave a small chuckle at the teasing name. "Good night, Ash," he said, before hanging up his phone. He set both it and his glasses back on the bedside table to try to take his own advice. Of course, sleeping wasn't very easy when you see Wendigo faces every time you close your eyes.


	2. Fear

Chris arrived at the coffee shop outside the open-air mall before Ashley did. That was pretty typical for their hangouts. Chris hated being late, so he always gave himself plenty of time to get anywhere, usually too much. And the fact that it usually meant that Ashley didn't have to wait for him was a bonus.

Because he was so early, he decided to grab Ashley's usual frappuccino while he ordered his own mocha. He was just about to sit by the window when he spotted Ashley outside, so he instead went over to greet her.

Ashley had her phone out to send Chris a text, so when he started walking up to her, she jumped, only vaguely seeing something coming at her from her peripheral vision. "Oh, Chris," she greeted with a small smile as she put her phone away. "I was just about to text you."

"Hey, Ash. Sorry to startle you," Chris apologized. He held Ashley's drink out to her. She hesitated a moment, before taking it.

"I'm still a little jumpy," Ashley replied before taking a small sip. Chris noticed she didn't seem to be enjoying her drink as much as she usually did.

"I noticed," Chris commented with a wry smile. He bent down to look Ashley closer in the face, and her already-wide eyes went even wider. "Looks like your black eye is healing well. My ankle's almost healed, too." He pulled up his pant leg to show Ashley an ankle brace sticking up out of his shoe.

"I'm glad your ankle wasn't broken," Ashley commented.

"Yeah, me too. Sprains still hurt like hell, though," Chris replied. "So, anywhere you want to go?"

"Honestly, I just haven't been out of the house since we got back, and my parents have been nagging me to do something," Ashley replied, shaking her head.

"I want to stop by the tabletop game store, see what they have. After that, we'll just see what catches our eye. Probably browse the book store like we usually do." No trip to the mall was complete without Ashley dragging Chris into a bookstore, Ashley looking for books to add to her collection while Chris tried to make Ashley laugh with the most ridiculous book summary he could find.

"Sounds like a plan," Ashley replied. She gripped her drink close to her chest, though Chris swore he hadn't seen her take a drink since he handed it to her.

"Not up to your standards?" Chris asked, motioning to her drink.

"No, it's fine, I'm just not super thirsty right now," Ashley replied, before taking another sip as if to prove it tasted fine.

Chris began telling Ashley about a game he'd been thinking of picking up, when Ashley suddenly yelped out in alarm and jumped closer to Chris. "What, what is it?" he asked, instinctively wrapping a protective arm around her.

"Jeez, a little bump and you're jumping like you got stabbed. Who hurt you?" a man asked Ashley with a sneer. He then looked at Chris. "If it's him, Honey, you can do way better."

Chris felt rage rising up in his chest. "It's not any of your business, but we're both recovering from getting hurt," he stated, venom in his tone. The stranger seemed almost startled by Chris's intensity. "So back off, alright? A simple apology would've been enough."

"Sorry, man. You don't have to get so defensive," the guy stated, hands up as he backed away from Chris's death glare. He clearly still didn't take Chris fully seriously, but he at least knew he should stop. He then turned to continue to go about his day.

"Ash, you alright?" Chris asked, his tone softening as he looked down at Ashley.

"And this is why I didn't want to go out in public," Ashley muttered with a bitter tone.

"And also why you should go out in public, at least with someone you trust," Chris added. "If you don't, you'll just hide in your room all the time and become agoraphobic."

"There you go being annoyingly right again," Ashley grumbled. "I'm sorry, I'm probably not the most fun to be around right now."

Chris gently tilted Ashley's head up so her eyes could meet his. "You're exactly who I want to be with right now, especially if I can help you feel more at-ease."

Ashley nodded. "Okay, so, game store?" she prompted.

"Yes, I was just about to say, even though I read up on the game and everything, I have a hard time really deciding until I see the box and what's shown on the back," Chris said. The two of them made it to the game store just then, and Chris held the door open for Ashley. Ashley gave him a smile in thanks as she passed through.

Chris walked around until he spotted the game he was thinking about. He picked it off the shelf to take a look at the back. Ashley, meanwhile, sipped on her drink as she continued to browse the shelves. However, she stopped when one particular item caught her eye.

Chris heard a gasp, followed by rapid breathing. "Fuck," he muttered, hastily putting the game on the shelf and hurrying over to Ashley's side. "Ashley, Ash, what's wrong?" he asked.

Ashley fought for breath as tears streamed down her face and she started sobbing. She bent over forward as she tried to catch her breath. Chris wrapped his arms around her and guided her into himself, spotting the culprit as he did so. A mass-produced Spirit Board, sitting innocently on the shelf.

"Ashley, nothing was haunting us, remember? It was just Josh messing with our heads," Chris stated, trying to calm Ashley down.

"I know, Chris," Ashley sobbed between breaths. "I just- this just-"

"Shh, shh, hey, it's okay," Chris soothed, gently rubbing Ashley's back.

Ashley managed to get her frantic breathing to a more normal level and rested her forehead on Chris's shoulder. "I felt like I was back on the mountain, fearing for my life," she muttered.

"Ashley, I won't let anything happen to you, okay?" Chris said. He stepped back slightly out of the hug so he could wipe away Ashley's tears, even though her breath was still catching in her throat.

Ashley's eyes locked with Chris's as she looked for something to say. Instead, however, her mind took her back to a different moment on the mountain. She leaned in, touching her lips to his as her eyes fluttered shut.

Chris was startled. He counted himself lucky to get one kiss from Ashley, but now he got the pleasure of experiencing a second. He kissed back, letting his eyes fall closed for the moment that was all too short.

"Sorry, mind still not quite in the present," Ashley stated. She sounded tired, her anxiety attack having drained what energy she had. "That, uh, fear and flashbacks have been happening a lot. Anything that reminds me of that night. Did you know there's a comic book character named after that stupid creature? I nearly threw my dad's Wolverine comic across the room when I read what the character was supposed to be. I don't feel safe in my own house; ghosts might not be real, but something from that mountain is haunting me."

"Ash, I'm so sorry, if I knew what you were going through, I'd have…" Chris said, sighing at the end when he realized he had nothing.

"Come over to my house?" Ashley supplied. "I know how much my dad scares you."

"If that's what you think will help, I will," Chris stated. "Any time you need me."

"What about tonight?"


	3. Anxiety

"Tonight? As in, night tonight?" Chris asked, surprised with how forward Ashley was being.

Ashley nodded. "I can't keep going like this, Chris. I need sleep, I need someone with me to keep my imagination from freaking me out," she stated. Chris pulled back from the hug so he could look her in the face.

"I'm… not sure, Ash." Sleeping with Ashley, weather it was chaste cuddling or sleeping with her in the less-innocent connotation of the phrase, was something that Chris had dreamed of nearly for as long as he knew Ashley. "You're scared, and still pulling yourself back together. I don't want to take advantage of that."

"It's not taking advantage if I'm the one asking you," Ashley stated.

Chris paused a moment before nodding. "Okay. So then the only obstacle is your dad. I'm like ninety percent sure he doesn't like me, and I don't think he'd appreciate me staying the night with you."

"I'll deal with him," Ashley stated.

* * *

"Like HELL you can have a guy stay over!" Ashley's dad bellowed. Ashley jumped a little, and it took all of Chris's willpower not to reach out to her to comfort her. He was pretty sure that wouldn't actually help things.

"Dad, please," Ashley begged. "I would LOVE to invite Sam or Jessica or someone over instead. But I can't." There was a surprising bite to Ashley's tone. "Chris is the only person still alive who understands what I went through. We aren't going to do anything bad." Chris could hear Ashley try desperately to keep from crying. He could tell without seeing her face that tears were starting to pool in her eyes.

Ashley's dad stared silently at Chris, as if trying to judge the teen. "Your door stays open, and I will throw him out if he does anything I don't like."

"Thank you," Ashley squeaked out, speeding by Chris and grabbing his arm as she passed. Chris allowed her to pull him to the hall and followed her to her room. He noticed Ashley seem to step over something and he looked, seeing a Wolverine comic haphazardly thrown on the floor.

Chris picked up the comic and placed it on a random high shelf while Ashley sat down heavily on her bed.

"Charming gentleman," Chris commented flatly.

"Careful, he has like crazy good hearing," Ashley warned in a hushed voice. "He's just… trying to protect me."

"Can't fault him for that, I suppose," Chris stated, sitting down on the bed next to Ashley.

Ashley tensed for the moment that the bed moved, but then allowed herself to relax into Chris. "I want to be strong, to be able to get over this without needing to lean on you, but…"

"Ashley, everyone deals with trauma differently," Chris interrupted, looking down at her.

"It doesn't help that I had problems with anxiety before the trip," Ashley grumbled.

"Wait, what?" Chris asked, surprised. He thought he knew Ashley better than he knew himself. How did he never notice? He didn't notice Josh's mental problems either. Was he just a bad friend? "I had no idea."

"A lot of practice hiding it. And I'm more relaxed around you," Ashley replied. "No pressure to be perfect, since you'll just help me laugh it off. But there's no laughing off what happened this time."

"Except the thing with the baby wolverine," Chris pointed out.

Ashley huffed out a small laugh. "I forgot the wolverine," she stated.

Chris hesitated a moment, before kissing Ashley on the top of her head. She's kissed him twice now, it was his turn to make a move, even an innocent one like that. "We'll help each other get over it. We're not going to get back to normal, but we'll reach 'normal enough' before you know it."

"Well, considering 'normal' us wouldn't have the courage to, you know, kiss each other, I'm kinda okay with not going back to normal," Ashley commented, her voice hushed so that her dad wouldn't hear her.

"Well, one kiss was because I was about to do something incredibly dangerous, and the second was when you were coming back from a flashback," Chris pointed out. "Haven't yet gotten the courage to kiss without adrenaline helping out."

Ashley sat up and looked at Chris, her eyes seeming to focus on his lips. Chris took that as a silent permission. Chris leaned in slowly, giving Ashley time to back away should she want to. She, however, let her eyes flutter closed in anticipation of their lips meeting, so Chris did the same. He gave her a chaste peck, before waiting to see what Ashley would do. Her lips again met his and they took their time, for once not feeling the pressure of time or public or anything. Chris lifted a hand to cup Ashley's face, wanting to touch more of her but not wanting her to feel trapped with him.

Ashley, however, had other ideas. She wrapped her arms around Chris's neck, and when the two of them broke the kiss to catch a breath, she leaned back, pulling Chris with her.

Chris ended up partially over Ashley, with his arms on either side of her head, though he was careful to keep both of his legs to the right of her.

"We probably shouldn't give your dad any more reason to hate me," Chris whispered, casting a nervous glance at the door.

"Good point," Ashley whispered back, letting go of Chris so he could roll over to her side. "I really needed that. Thank you." Ashley rolled over to face Chris, putting an arm around him and practically curling into his side.

Chris looked at Ashley. She seemed so small curled up next to him. "Even better than I imagined kissing you would be," he commented, wrapping his arms around Ashley's frame. "You already tired? It's only like seven."

"Yeah, I didn't go back to sleep after I called you last night," Ashley replied with a yawn. "It's catching up with me."

"Sleep. I'll be right here," Chris told her. Ashley nodded and let herself drift off to sleep, for once not fearing the nightmares that have been haunting her.


End file.
